Tag: Farmhouse

Here’s an old grinding wheel that was once used for sharpening knives and tools. It was recovered from a stream which runs through the old manor complex of Keynedon Barton in South Devon where it had been lying there for more than 60 years. ‘The Lodge’ is situated within the grounds of this manor complex and we have just completed a new retaining wall in front of it, all built in natural stone. It was decided that the old grinding wheel would have the name ‘The Lodge’ carved into it and then set into the new wall as a feature.

This small linhay dates back to the early 1600’s and is part of the old manor complex of Keynedon Barton in Sherford on the outskirts of Kingsbridge. The farmhouse can claim to be one of the oldest in South Devon, with its history dating back several hundred years. Back in the summer we spent several weeks carrying out repairs to a wall that got washed away after a river burst its banks and we also constructed a new stone retaining wall on site. This week we returned again to Keynedon Barton to carry out some small repairs to field boundary walls and gate pillars around the farm which is general maintainance to keep livestock within the fields and this type of work is ongoing for any working farm.

It was during the 1600’s that Keynedon Barton became a high status mock fortified manor complex and much of the remaining stonework down at the farmouse can still be seen, a great deal of effort went into this stonework and this can also be seen in the stonework and round pillars of the linhay. They are constructed from local slate and each stone has been hand dressed with an axe, which is remarkable really when you think that all this was done to create a building in the middle of nowhere to keep animals in! The rear elevation has raking buttresses which have also been constructed to a high degree of craftsmanship. Having stood for almost 400 years, overall, this stonework is still structurally in a good condition and a credit to the masons that built it in the first place.

When we update our main website we will post a link here showing you the walls we built over by the farmhouse.